Endlessly is the second studio album by Welsh singer Duffy. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2010 by A&M Records (under Polydor) and in the United States on 7 December 2010 by Mercury Records and Def Jam Recordings. Duffy worked almost exclusively with Albert Hammond Snr. on the album, with all but one of the album's songs being written by Hammond and Duffy. Four of the songs received additional or co-production by Stuart Price. Music is also provided by The Roots and Questlove. Musically, the album follows the soul stylings of her first album Rockferry (2008), although Duffy drew inspiration from a variety of other genres, including disco and soft rock, and was compared to pop singers such as Kylie Minogue.
The album received mixed reviews, with critics stating that Duffy faltered outside of her comfort zone, although it was called a "proper sophomore effort", and was often compared to Rockferry, in terms of both commercial and critical performance. Vocally, Duffy's falsetto and vibrato were both criticised and praised, being called "delicious to some and cloying to others." Commercially, it did not replicate Duffy's success with her debut, reaching just number seventy-two on the US Billboard 200. Nevertheless, Endlessly reached the top ten in Denmark, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It has been certified gold in four European countries including in the United Kingdom.
The only single from Endlessly, titled "Well, Well, Well", did not perform well on national charts, and was only a modest European success, reaching a peak of thirty-seven on the European Hot 100 Singles chart and number forty-one in the UK. The single features a rhythm section by United States hip hop group The Roots. Duffy promoted the album extensively throughout the world, performing on many television shows and conducting an array of print interviews. A live extended play (EP) of songs from the album was released in Germany in 2011 and plans for a concert tour were listed as "coming soon" on Duffy's website. However, shortly after the release of the album, it was announced that Duffy would be taking an indefinite hiatus from the music industry, and the planned second single from Endlessly – "My Boy" – was cancelled, though a single mix of the title track was digitally released. The album is not available on any streaming service such as Spotify.
Background In March 2008, Welsh singer Aimée Ann Duffy released her debut studio album, Rockferry, under the mononym Duffy. The blue-eyed soul album went on to be the best-selling album of 2008 in the UK, whilst the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry named it the fourth biggest seller worldwide of that year. The album also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the American 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Following the release of the album's final single, "Rain on Your Parade" in November 2008, Duffy began work on her second album, aiming to enlist the help of different producers from Rockferry, to create a different sound profile than she had previously used.
In late January 2010 Rough Trade Management, who with Jeanette Lee had managed Duffy throughout the course of Rockferrys release, announced that they and the singer had parted amicably with the company. Duffy's new management said that "professional relationship between Duffy and Rough Trade management has run its course."Duffy turns her back on record company WalesOnline, 29 January 2010 Duffy was quoted by Billboard as saying, "It just felt as though the relationship [with Lee] had run its course, [as] what we had set out to do, we'd done—I was developed, established, and I had to think: 'OK, so what now?'". Duffy was then represented by Angela Becker of London-based Becker Brown Management.
Recording In January, one Billboard article reported on the development of the record, being the first to reveal that Duffy was working with "veteran songwriter" Albert Hammond as well as The Roots drummer Questlove, whose group she had previously admired for their work on their remix of her song "Mercy" (2008). I The magazine stated that the material it had heard "feels like it was born in 1963 and is much in the vein of the Dusty Springfield-inspired soul [...] [on] Rockferry". Duffy talked to MusicOMH about her collaboration with Hammond, saying;
The album was primarily recorded at recording studios MSR Studios NYC, Cake Studio, British Grove Studios and the Sotogrande Studios in New York, London and Spain over the course of three weeks,Duffy returns with new album Endlessly Daily Post North Wales, 22 November 2010 although sessions also took place throughout 2009 and 2011; Duffy had been recording songs she had written using her computer and iPod since the release of Rockferry, some of which remained in demo form until the final stages of the recording process. Duffy had formed a songwriting partnership with Albert Hammond for the record, which resulted in nine of the ten final songs released being written, composed and produced by Duffy and Hammond together. Aside from her partnership with Hammond, Duffy also forged collaborative efforts with other musicians who she felt reflected the sound change she was aiming for, including hip hop group The Roots. Duffy said in an interview that their involvement would be limited to "a rhythm section" going on to say "if you know The Roots you will know just how cool [that] is. I love them and they are so cool." She was also heavily involved with the recording process. The Daily Telegraph reports that often Duffy was a perfectionist regarding her songs, and that she often stayed in the studio with her mix engineer to ensure the composition sounded exactly as she wanted. This was often done without the help of Hammond, and she was quoted "this is all I care about. I keep a tight rein when it comes to quality control." Billboard reported in November later that year that Duffy had experimented with a new dance sound, confirming that neither Bernard Butler nor Steve Booker, who produced the bulk of Duffy's debut album, Rockferry, had returned for the record.
Music and lyrics Endlessly consists of ten songs which take influence from a variety of genres across different musical spectrums. AllMusic said that the album marked a transition from "Dusty Springfield-like ingenue" on Rockferry to "Kylie Minogue-ish diva." This point of view was echoed by several other reviewers. Inkeeping with this, Endlessly was said to have experimented with a new dance sound, "rigorously maintain[ing] a 1:1 ratio between dance tracks and ballads". The album's first single, "Well, Well, Well", was said to have achieved this particularly well, as it emulates "a sassier, brassier Duffy". Uncut noted that the album could be split into two-halves according to the "opposing moods" it contains–"saucy, sexed-up spin[s] around the dancefloor" and "soaring, superior ballads". Nevertheless, a sound similar to Rockferry was created in the form of "Too Hurt to Dance" and "Hard for the Heart", both of which were compared to the work of Springfield. In 2010, Billboard magazine was favourable in its preview of the album, introducing what it called the "funk-fueled" "My Boy", disco-esque "Lovestruck" and string-fuelled pop of "Keeping My Baby". Overall, the album was said to "have the same sassy, soulful pop hooks", as her debut album, albeit with more maturity and "raw" pop vibe.
Lyrically, the album is an array of love songs, with songs such as "My Boy" and "Girl" portraying Duffy in a protective manner, with respect to her lover. On "Breath Away", Duffy laments that her lover is "taking her breath away." "Hard for the Heart" questions the difficulties involved with falling in love.
Songs The album's first song, "My Boy", opens to crowd noise, engineered by Brendan Reilly and Aaron Sokell. Described as "one of the few songs to sound as though it emerged from the 21st century", it was said to be a reference point and introduction to the "classic girl group sound" seen on Endlessly, and a combination of the two aforementioned styles. As with the rest of the album, it was written and produced by Duffy and Hammond. It was praised for its use of keyboards and percussion, played by Hammond, said to "sound like piano's laughing", and "creating a preponderance of beats that dig themselves into your brain", respectively. Lyrically, Duffy sings of "the completely rude and judgemental comments made about her relationship with a significantly younger gentleman." The next song, titled "Too Hurt to Dance", was called a "grand glitterball ballad", and is inspired by the music of the 1950s. Q named it the ninth best song of December 2010, whilst Kitty Empire of The Observer was critical of Duffy's voice on the song, noting that her "quacking patent-leather vocal" was of prevalence. This was in contrast to the disco music displayed in "Keeping My Baby", which again received comparisons to the music of Minogue. Originally intended to be the second single released from the album, it was said to omit a tango style, and was both positively and negatively received by critics. As lyrically it is sung from the point of view of a pregnant girl, it was compared to the song "Papa Don't Preach" (1986) by Madonna. The single "Well, Well, Well" follows. Said to debut Duffy's "inner diva", the song, like "Mercy" (2008) is heavily influenced with Northern Soul, aided by a rhythm section provided by The Roots. Duffy was able too secure their part in the song and others on the album through telephoning the president of Island Def Jam Records, LA Reid. It was negatively reviewed by the BBC Chart Blog, as despite its provocative lyrics and challenging nature, "it basically has one idea, one note, one refrain, and it stops and it starts and it repeats and repeats and repeats like someone is prodding and prodding at your chest." The reviewer continued that the song was "monumentally irritating", a sentiment that several reviewers echoed. Elsewhere, it was described as an "instant classic".